Converter circuits for producing an AC voltage power from a rectified line supply or a DC voltage supply are known per se in various designs. So-called class E converters or flyback converters are known, in particular.
In class E converters, storage inductors are charged by means of a terminal to a power supply. Given a specific current value, the current flow through a switching transistor lying in series with the storage inductor is interrupted, and the induced voltage pulse thereby produced is used to supply a load.
It is known, in particular, to use such class E converters to supply dielectrically impeded discharge lamps with a pulsed high-frequency supply voltage. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,600 B1, which illustrates both the operating principle of a class E converter and this application.
It is further known to use power factor correction circuits in order to ensure that current is drawn from a supply network as sinusoidally as possible, that is to say in order to improve the power factor. Consideration is given here, inter alia, to so-called step-up converters, which are described, for example, in: C. H. Sturm, E. Klein: “Betriebsgeräte und Schaltungen für elektrische Lampen” [“Operating devices and circuits for electric lamps”], 6th edition, 1992, Siemens AG, page 127.
The step-up converter has the advantage of being particularly simple in design and operation.